Depending on your friend's age, her parents may have been fans of the teevee show *The New Avengers*, which attempted to pick up where the original *Avengers* left off. It was never as successful as the original show, although the blonde, leggy female character, Purdie (played by Joanna Lumley), went on to become a hit in *Ab Fab*).

"Purdie" can be a nickname for "Perdita", which means "the lost". She was an aptly named character in Shakespeare's *The Winter's Tale*.

Alternately, "Purdie" is Redneck for "pretty". Ask Pavlos about that, as he speaks Redneck fluently. :)